All

Frequently Asked Questions

A web feed is a way for a web site to send you fresh content: the headlines from the site, delivered to your desktop. If the headline looks interesting, click on it to read the whole article.

What does it cost?

It's free. You don't even need to register, or hand over your email address.

Why are feeds exciting?

Web feeds are springing up all over the internet. Instead of clicking around all your favourite sites to check for anything new, or interesting, subscribe to their web feeds. Feeds bring you your own, personalized, highlights of the internet.

How do I subscribe to the feed?

You can read the feed either through your browser, via a web site, or with some special feed reader software (some of which is free). Run a web search for 'Feed readers' to find out some options, or explore some of these avenues (but please note that Oxford Language Dictionaries Online can neither recommend software nor give assistance in installation or use):

Through your browser: some browsers can read feeds: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, and Safari (Macs only). Subscribing is as simple as bookmarking a page.
Through a personalized home page: several companies are now offering personalized home pages, for example: Google, My Yahoo, or Microsoft's Windows Live. You may need to register, but once you have a personalized start page, you can add different feeds to it to make it truly your own.
Through a special web site: some web sites are dedicated to tracking feeds for you. Bloglines is a popular option; Google also has a reader. They are free, but you'll need to register.
With a feed reader program: you can download a program (some are free) to manage all your feeds. Popular readers for PCs include Newz Crawler and Feedreader (free), and for Macs, NetNewsWire (free version available).

Once you have your reader, navigate to one of the language feeds listed in 'How to subscribe' above and use your reader's subscribe feature.

I still don't get it ...

We'd recommend that you have a look at the BBC web site, which has a friendly introduction, the Feed Factory, and
a useful help page.

By subscribing to our web feed, you are deemed to have accepted our terms of use.